Tag Archives: book review

Jennifer Le Zotte’s article “Why Marie Kondo’s Netflix Show Won’t Actually Change Us” raises important points about cultural differences and living space, and also, about the differences between a book and its visual interpretation through a medium like television.

Le Zotte explains the history of conspicuous consumption in America, and makes a compelling case of how acquisitiveness came to be deeply embedded in our culture. “Decluttering” doesn’t lead to a downsized life – we simply replace the discarded items with things we consider “better.”

She also examines how Kondo’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” (the 2014 best-seller that inspired the Netflix show) presents a deeper, more expanded view of the benefits of decluttering than can be portrayed in a short television program. The Netflix show focuses more on the people Kondo is helping than the method itself, and the cultural differences between Kondo and her American clients are played for humor.

The article is thought-provoking, and if you have any interest in these topics, I recommend it. Click on the photo below to read it:

I gave this one three stars (out of five) – it was just ok for me, but it served its purpose as a fun, light, chick-lit palate cleanser between some of the heavier books I’ve been reading lately.

Josh and Hazel first met in college, and run into each other again a few years later in the “early career” stage of life. Josh was very handsome (and, to Hazel, unattainable) in college, and when they meet again, he still takes her breath away. Hazel is a quirky, bumbling, “Bridget Jones” type character who embarrasses herself all the time and doesn’t have a very good handle on her life. She calls herself “undateable” for those reasons.

Josh and Hazel become good friends, but agree they aren’t romantically suited to one another. However, they’re both single and looking, so they make an agreement to set each other up on dates, and then to go out as a foursome. These blind “double dates” are meant to ease the pressure of going out with a stranger for the first time … but they don’t work very well for Josh and Hazel. Neither of them can seem to connect with the partners the other has chosen for them.

I’m sure you can imagine where this is going.

Aside from the predictable plot, my other issues with the book were:

1 – Hazel – the “manic pixie dreamgirl” stereotype. Her bumbling is cute for a while, but there came a point where I just found her annoying. Nobody is THAT far off her game, and she became unlikeable to me.

2 – The ending – which I won’t spoil here – has a “twist” that I wasn’t wild about.

I seem to be in the minority here – the book got lots of rave reviews on Goodreads. For me, it was a fun bit of fluff, rather like having cotton candy at the fair – okay for a “treat” although it’s a lot of empty calories, and might leave you feeling a little bit unsatisfied afterwards.

Blessings,

Annette

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Books for review can be sent to P.O. Box 19252, Kalamazoo, MI 49018-0252

Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties tells the story of Maggie, a woman in her fifties who finds her life in crisis. Her husband suddenly walks out, and as she faces the world as a separated, soon-to-be divorced woman, she realizes that she has lost her sense of identity. She has been a wife and mother for so long, she hasn’t really had a strong sense of who she is and what she wants since she was in her thirties (hence the title). Maggie knows she must pull herself together and create a new life – but how?

As she casts about for new friends and a new vocation, she makes a lot of mistakes, but her confidence grows. Her divorce is finalized, and she works on closing that chapter of her life by attending a support group for new divorcees and making future plans. She befriends a man who could be a potential love interest, but is she ready? And when her ex-husband makes contact again, will she long for her former life?

The book was just ok for me … this is not a reflection on the author or her work (the story was nicely written), but I didn’t identify with the subject matter very much. Maggie and her husband/ex-husband were both having their own version of a mid-life identity crisis, which I haven’t dealt with. I tried listening to the audio book first, and found that I didn’t care for the narrator – she read the story in a defensive, slightly snarky tone that I found at odds with Maggie’s uncertainty and sadness (it felt like the narrator was indignant on Maggie’s behalf). But I thought the story was pretty good, so I read the Kindle version instead.